About.com English as 2nd language
What would you do if you were in his shoes?
To be in someone's shoes is an idiom often used to express what you would do if you were that person. This is also an example of a conditional sentence. Conditionals are used to imagine situations in the future, present and past. There are also a number of similar expressions used to speak about hypothetical situations such as I'd rather be lying on the beach on vacation!
What would you do if you were in his shoes? originally appeared on About.com English as 2nd Language on Thursday, February 2nd, 2012 at 14:00:35.
Capitalization and Punctuation
Capitalization and punctuation go hand in hand. Why is that? Well, The first word of every sentence or question is capitalized, and the last word of each sentence or question is followed by a punctuation mark. In other words, the first place to look for understanding in capitalization and punctuation is at the end of one sentence and the first word of the next. Of course, there are other rules which this guide to capitalization rules and this guide to basic English punctuation rules will help you learn.
Capitalization and Punctuation originally appeared on About.com English as 2nd Language on Tuesday, January 31st, 2012 at 14:54:02.
Focus on the Prepositions On and In
Here are two sheets that focus on the prepositions on and in. Each explanation sheet includes explanation of various uses of these prepositions, as well as common phrases that begin with each preposition such as On the contrary, on the way, etc. and in any case, in conclusion, etc.
Preposition - In
Preposition - On
Focus on the Prepositions On and In originally appeared on About.com English as 2nd Language on Thursday, January 26th, 2012 at 12:34:11.
Improving Reading Skills
Ask yourself a simple question: Do I read every word of every text in my native language? My guess is that you don't. Unfortunately, when reading in English (or another foreign language) people want to understand every word. Learn how to improve your English reading skills by using the techniques you already use in your own language.
Next, you can use these reading skills in a number of ways to improve other areas of English learning such as pronunciation, grammar and increasing vocabulary.
Reading Tips to Improve Your Pronunciation
Reading Tips to Improve Your Vocabulary
Reading Tips to Improve Your Conversational Skills
Reading Tips to Improve Your Grammar
Reading Tips to Improve Your Listening Skills
Improving Reading Skills originally appeared on About.com English as 2nd Language on Tuesday, January 24th, 2012 at 12:26:34.
I've worked here last year OR I worked here last year?
The correct answer is: I worked here last year. Understanding the use of tenses is key to using English correctly. Use this tense review to quickly check your understanding, and follow links to resources explaining and providing quizzes on English tenses. This visual guide to tenses will help by providing pictures of when tenses are used on a timeline. There's also a tenses timeline which provides an overview of all tenses on one page.
I've worked here last year OR I worked here last year? originally appeared on About.com English as 2nd Language on Thursday, January 19th, 2012 at 12:36:52.
Find the Mistake: We met to the cinema.
In this sentence, 'to' is a mistake. The correct version of this sentence is: We met at the cinema. These find the mistake worksheets ask you to find the mistake in each sentence focusing on one grammar point. Answers are provided on the following page:
Have to / Must / Don't Have to / Mustn't
Question Forms
Prepositions of Movement
Prepositions of Place - In, At and On
Homophone Mistakes
Definite and Indefinite Articles - A, An or The
Past Simple or Present Perfect
Present Simple or Present Continuous
Find the Mistake: We met to the cinema. originally appeared on About.com English as 2nd Language on Tuesday, January 17th, 2012 at 20:06:42.
Verb Patterns - I considered buying OR to buy?
The correct answer to the question in the title is: I considered buying a new .... The verb 'consider' when followed by another verb takes the 'ing' form. Other verbs, such as 'hope' (I hope to see you soon.) take the infinitive form. Still other verbs such as 'let' take a (pro)noun followed by the base form of the verb: She let her child stay out late. These reference guides provide lists of the most common verbs used in these combination of verb patterns:
Verbs followed by the gerund - Verb + Ing
Verbs followed by a (pro)noun plus the infinitive - Verb + (Pro)Noun + Infinitive
Verbs followed by the infinitive - Verb + Infinitive
Verb Patterns - I considered buying OR to buy? originally appeared on About.com English as 2nd Language on Saturday, January 14th, 2012 at 17:06:51.
Reported Speech Worksheet
Frank flew to Moscow last week. -> Frank said he had flown to Moscow the previous week.
This is an example of reported speech, also known as indirect speech. We use reported speech when relating what someone else tells us to others. This reported speech worksheet goes over the most important changes required, as well as providing a 20 question worksheet for in-class or self-study use (answers are provided on the following page). Other worksheets include:
Present Simple Worksheet
Present Continuous Worksheet
Past Simple Worksheet
Present Perfect Worksheett
Reported Speech Worksheet originally appeared on About.com English as 2nd Language on Thursday, January 12th, 2012 at 14:31:46.
Modifying Nouns - The Key Role of Adjectives
Adjectives modify nouns - generally we think of words such as big, expensive, interesting, etc. as adjectives, but there are many words that qualify as adjectives. This guide to the nine types of adjectives will help you understand how adjectives are used in English. You can also use a number of adjectives together, but need to be careful about using the correct adjective order such as He had a nice, big round belly instead of a big, round nice belly.
Modifying Nouns - The Key Role of Adjectives originally appeared on About.com English as 2nd Language on Monday, January 9th, 2012 at 12:17:51.
Asking Questions
There are many ways to get a conversation going, but asking questions is certainly a way to keep the conversation flowing. It's important to ask the right questions using the correct form. If you are asking for specific information, use question words (who, what, where, etc.). If you want to check information that you already know, use question tags. If it's important to be polite, use indirect questions. Perhaps you just want a simple yes or no answer to your question.
Students can practice questions with others in class with these question lesson plans, or check their knowledge with this asking questions quiz.
Asking Questions originally appeared on About.com English as 2nd Language on Friday, January 6th, 2012 at 11:24:51.
The Brook Gurgled, but the Wind Howled!
Gurgle and howl are examples of onomatopoeia of words that imitate the sounds they express. Learn these verbs and listen to your teacher hum with delight! Many of these verbs refer to sounds human's make. Take this human sounds gap fill quiz to check your understanding of the verbs used to express the sounds we make.
The Brook Gurgled, but the Wind Howled! originally appeared on About.com English as 2nd Language on Tuesday, January 3rd, 2012 at 16:58:31.
2012 - What the Future Holds - Lesson Plan
It's finally arrived! 2012 is here and with it all the predictions about the world economic situation, global unrest and protest, Mayan calendar and Hopi predictions, as well as all those crazy Hollywood visions of a 2012 planetary demise. All of this is great stuff for a conversation about the future, as well as a quick review of future forms for making predictions. This 2012 conversation lesson plan provides worksheets and step by step instructions on using this great conversational topic in class. Groups that are interested in discussing their horoscopes might also enjoy the Zodiac vocabulary pages helpful, or teachers can use the Zodiac lesson plan to further discuss future predictions.
2012 - What the Future Holds - Lesson Plan originally appeared on About.com English as 2nd Language on Saturday, December 31st, 2011 at 21:17:58.
Putting English Together
Understanding the parts of speech will help you construct sentences using these common sentence patterns in English. Move from there onto constructing more complex sentences, and finally to writing effective paragraphs. Finally, write effective essays by following the four part writing workshop.
Putting English Together originally appeared on About.com English as 2nd Language on Thursday, December 29th, 2011 at 13:30:52.
Sharing Tips and Learning from Each Other
Many users and teachers have kindly shared the learning tips on the site. Learn from others, and share your own secrets to mastering English:
Short Activities for the Classroom
Classroom Management Tips
Vocabulary Learning Activities
Conversation Activities
How I Improved My English Pronunciation
How I Improved my Writing Skills
Sharing Tips and Learning from Each Other originally appeared on About.com English as 2nd Language on Tuesday, December 27th, 2011 at 12:25:02.
English Learning Tip of the Day
English Learning Tip of the Day
English Word of the Day
English Learning Tips and Suggestions for the Coming Year
English Learning Tip of the Day originally appeared on About.com English as 2nd Language on Saturday, December 24th, 2011 at 17:57:51.
Asking for Things and Thanking
For many of us it's the time of year where we ask for presents from Santa and thank him and others for wonderful gifts, delicious dinners and good holiday spirit. This guide to saying please and thank you will help you express yourself, while using the correct forms to ask for things in English will help out when exchanging holiday cheer from others.
Asking for Things and Thanking originally appeared on About.com English as 2nd Language on Thursday, December 22nd, 2011 at 11:44:10.
He often forgets to do it. / He forgets doing it.
Which sentence expresses that an action gets done? ANSWER: He forgets doing it. Some verbs take both the infinitive and gerund forms, but change meanings. This guide to the most common verbs that take the gerund and the infinitive but change in meaning provides side by side comparisons and provides detailed explanation of the difference between these verb patterns.
He often forgets to do it. / He forgets doing it. originally appeared on About.com English as 2nd Language on Tuesday, December 20th, 2011 at 07:24:27.
Difficult Choices between Verbs
There are a number of verb pairs that cause confusion. Here's an example sentence of each pair with a link to the explanatory page if you need help:
I told / said him to hurry up! - differences between tell and say
We went / came home early. - differences between go or come
Please take / bring home some bread. - differences between take and bring
We watched / saw TV last night. - differences between see and watch
Did you listen / hear what I said? - differences between listen and hear
The parents raised / rose their children well. - differences between raise and rise
That reminds / remembers me of the time I wen to school. - differences between remind and remember
Difficult Choices between Verbs originally appeared on About.com English as 2nd Language on Saturday, December 17th, 2011 at 11:21:34.
Correction is Important, but When?
Teaching English requires that you correct students from time to time. However, there are many methods that can be used to correct effectively. In other words, correcting each and every mistake is not always the best idea. Student correction should be done in a manner to encourage communication, rather than stem it. It's also a great idea to encourage students to correct their own mistakes through the use of clues. Finally, sentence auctions provide a fun activity that helps students focus on self-correction.
Correction is Important, but When? originally appeared on About.com English as 2nd Language on Thursday, December 15th, 2011 at 14:15:16.
Using Time Expressions
English ties tenses with time expressions to indicate when something happened. Learning these time expressions tied together with the correct tense can help with fluency. Here are the first two guides to these important time expressions including detailed explanation, tenses used in each clause and numerous examples to help you learn:
Sequencing: After, Before and When
During that Time: While, As, As / So long As
Using Time Expressions originally appeared on About.com English as 2nd Language on Tuesday, December 13th, 2011 at 15:51:34.